Medical --> Off and running!

It is another beautiful day in Louisville this morning as I am nearing the end of my two weeks off from school before the start of yet another quarter of classes. It has been wonderful having a much needed break from school and I must confess, I am not at all ready to go back, however; the sooner I go back the sooner I can be done with school altogether and the faster that day approaches the better :) hear hear!

The first week off I started with a much too quick visit to my in-laws in Ohio County! I wish we could have stayed longer but even the short amount of time we were there still proved to be as eventful as always. Firstly, I got to shoot a pistol for the first time in my life! I had shot a shotgun a long time ago but I had never used a handgun and since Bryan's gun was freshly cleaned and loaded with new ammo it just had to be shot, of course. So Bryan, Steve, and I (and eventually Mamaw) all stood out in the driveway and set up our targets and the three of us took our turn shooting! I watched Steve and Bryan shoot first and got a bit nervous seeing as they are both much stronger than I and they were still having a little kick back from the shot. I was just imagining me lining up my sights and taking aim and then the gun flying back and smacking my face after I pulled the trigger... BUT it was quite the opposite! I shot several times and hit my target every time! Looks like all those days shooting coke cans with the BB gun finally paid off! (and I kept saying "aim small, miss small" to myself from the movie The Patriot. Many thanks to Mel Gibson!)

On top of all the fun shooting, I also added to the ever-growing list of new Western Kentucky words and phrases I have never heard. My latest addition is "mush melon." Apparently a "mush melon" is the exact same thing as a cantaloupe though I had never heard this term before. Either way, a melon by any other name tasted just as sweet to me!

So after stopping in Ohio County for a visit, Bryan and I set off for Birmingham, Alabama to begin the annual Bogo Firework adventure!! This was my first experience in firework sales, though Bryan had been doing it for several years now, and although I didn't get to stay for the big day on July 4th, I still learned a ton and loved getting to be behind the scenes in the world of "slingin' works" as they say. Bryan's uncle, Brian (yes, it gets confusing), is in the firework business and every summer Bryan goes and helps work for him during the busy season around the 4th but 'busy' does not even come close to describing all of the work that goes into this business!! I will tell more later and share a picture or two but man oh man, I had no idea the work it took until helping be a part of it and I have to say, I am SO proud I married a hard working man with an incredible work ethic that he obviously learned from the other men in his family. There is nothing more attractive than a man who's not afraid of full day's work!

After being in Alabama for a week, I then flew home this past Monday (which was a miracle in and of itself. It was my first time flying since my blood clots and I had nary a swelled ankle or leg! Praise God!) Then on Tuesday I had my second Remicade infusion and all went well once again! The doctors said if I was going to have any allergic reactions they would occur during the actual infusion and so far I am thankfully 0-2 :) As for the rest of my body, the medicine seems to be helping some but hasn't kicked into full gear yet. So now it is time to pray for everything to take hold and start working like it's supposed to in Jesus' name! On Earth as it is in Heaven, let it be done! Thank you still for your prayers and support, it does not fall on deaf ears. I'll have more pics and fun updates soon to come!

Medical--> Going for it

Once again, mucho has happened since my last post! These past few months have been rather eventful in the health department for me I suppose and I just can't seem to keep up with everything. Every time I post something, it's less than a week before something else strikes and I get so busy trying to fix it that I don't get to update until it's over! But here I am, nontheless, and confident that this will be the last update before they all become good news only! So last you heard I had just finished my blood transfusion and there really isn't much more to tell from that except to praise God that there were absolutely NO complications from it!! I felt great for a week or so and had my energy back and wasn't quite so pale (hallelujah! :) Having the right amount of blood in your body is just so beneficial. Go figure! I had also started the immunosuppressant, azathioprine, and we were working towards the 3 month mark which is when it is supposed to fully be at work in your system. It seemed to help a lot at first but then after only a few weeks it messed with my blood, then blood transfusion and lowering dose of azathioprine, then... it all went downhill from there. It started at first with me not being able to eat much. I would be starving and then after a few bites, bam, I was full to the brim. After that I started feeling a little nauseous every now and then it started happening every few days. I would wake up hungry but after a few bites I would be ready to throw up and then not able to eat the rest of the day. That lasted for a few days and then began the most awful week ever. I was nauseous all day every day unless I was lying down and not moving. And it was miserable. Honestly, it felt like I was waking up every morning and taking a pill just to make me feel awful all day long. Pretty discouraging, I must admit. Over the course of those two weeks, I lost about 18 lbs., became severely dehydrated, and significantly malnourished. It was safe to say that I was pretty much wasting away and so we stopped the immunosuppressant and got to the doctor. Since then, I have received a round of iron to build up my hemoglobin again and a few liters of fluid to help with the dehydration. I have also been drinking some shakes to help me gain a little weight back (I know, such a pain right :) but I really am looking forward to being back to what ever it is exactly that I call normal. I am happy to report though that I have officially eaten a meal since the whole ordeal! Granted it was significantly smaller in portion than my usual meals but I'd say it'll take some time before my stomach can handle food like it could before. But I've not been regularly nauseous and I have even put on a few pounds I think so I don't look so sickly :) So as things are now, the process for starting Remicade has started and I should be getting my first dose here in about a month. Till then, I am trying to live as healthily as possible and trusting God to continue providing in every aspect. We are going for it so, here goes! As always, thank you for you prayers and thoughts! Working through the rough stuff in life is so much easier when those you love are walking with you. (P.S. I learned the other day that the average American these days has 28 first kisses!! Outrageous huh?! But that's a whole different topic...)

Spring is Breaking!!

I have to say, this week has been one of the most fabulous weeks I've had in a while. AND it's only Wednesday! I am officially on spring break and I have had absolutely nothing to do. I have been able to wake up every morning whenever I feel like it and read, write, journal, clean, TV watch, nap, cook... to my hearts content! I must say it has been such a freeing feeling to be able to do things simply because I want to without feeling the pressure of what I really should be doing weighing down on me. I am currently in my most comfortable of beds with the window open, blinds up, Food Network on, and the sound of a coming storm rumbling in the background... Love it!

So what's been going on lately. Well, not a lot as of the immediate past but since the last post I have done/ been through quite a bit. So my birthday was the 24th of last month and I turned a whopping 21 years old! My actual birthday day and dinner was absolutely wonderful and such a blessing but I'll tell that story later. The late evening of my birthday, however, was a little unexpected and not so pleasant. Bryan and I were enjoying some birthday Godiva chocolates/ Wii Mario Kart with friends when I got a phone call from my mom. I had just had some bloodwork done earlier in the day to check all my levels and the doctors had already called her with the results. This was, at first, a pleasant surprise because they never call back the same day but then when I heard the tone of my mom's voice, I knew it wasn't just speedy service on their part.

Turns out the doctors were calling because they were, more or less, freaking out. When my results came back they saw that my iron levels were once again way too low as well as my potassium this time. Everything was so low that it was in a range where had I had a heart attack at any moment it would not have been a shock... and talk about shock. I was truly feeling so much better that I had in a long time and I was having so much energy as well! It didn't make any sense that all my levels were so low when I was feeling so good. But, the blood don't lie.

So what to do? They said I needed to have a blood transfusion immediately. Now ususally when my iron gets low I just get a few straight iron infusions and that takes care of it but in this case, there were several things that needed a boost and the best way to do that was to do a blood transfusion. I had never done this before because it was a scary thought for me considering my history with blood clots. Introducing a new blood that wasn't mine meant a slight risk of something going wrong even though the doctors are very careful to match the blood exactly with the donor. Still, I was always leary to give it a try when it was recommended before but this time I didn't really have a choice. I needed this transfusion asap or something bad was bound to happen.

Bryan and I were already going home for the weekend to celebrate my birthday with my family so it worked out well, only when mom asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, spending all day in a hospital wasn't exactly at the top of my list :) but it had to be done so off we went. Saturday morning we arrived at the infusion center at 8:30 and buckled in for the 5 hour long infusion of 2 pints of blood. The process itself is pretty much just the same as any kind of infusion so that wasn't scary but seeing a bag of this deep red blood slowly pump through the IV... it was just a little creepy :) but I really immediately started to feel better!

As we sat there, Mom and Bryan were on alert to see if I started breaking out in hives or itchy spots. Which thankfully didn't happen! But still, they were well prepared with books, snacks, and cards to stay occupied while I slipped in and out of consciousness from the benadryl :) I think at one point Bryan was teaching Mom how to play poker! As I sat in my chair, hooked up to the IV, I truly did start to feel better and better very immediately. They said my face flushed and actually had color that I hadn't had in weeks and I could almost feel my heart slowing down as the amount of blood in my system was coming back to normal.

So long and short, God took care of the whole situation and I have been feeling pretty good lately! Lots of energy, which is a HUGE change, and no racing heart rate or anything. Also, still no sickness or anything from being on immunosuppresants so praise God for that! But also not a ton of colon improvement as of now either... I'm not sure why not and if it will start soon but I'm still believing for a healing! One way or another it's going to happen :)

Thank you for your continuing prayers!

Stinkin Thinkin

When all else fails, this I know: God is good. He is always good.

As I've been beginning to walk through recurring health stuff lately, I have been holding on to this phrase more than ever. Looking from the outside, I know it may be difficult to understand my situation completely but, it really has been a bit of a rough road for years now. Most of the time I just deal with it because hey, it's my life and I'm thankful to have it but at times it does begin to wear on me. Dealing with ulcerative colitis and May-Thurner syndrome is an all day every day ordeal. It affects me as soon as I wake up, determines what I eat, when I eat, what I wear, the activities I do, when I go places, how I feel, how I talk, my energy, how I interact with people, my mood... and yeah, you get the idea. It's kind of sad really but I can tell you where at least one bathroom is any place I have ever been as well as the fastest route to each. In fact, I have become so in tune with the little girls room in general that I can even walk into a new place and usually instinctively know where the bathroom is. A true talent, I know :) but I say all this to emphasize the point that my health and things of that nature consume a LOT of my thought life.

As such, does it not make perfect sense that the enemy's first plan of attack would be to go through my mind? Of course! And that's exactly what he's been trying to do lately. To plant seeds of discouragement and weariness into the place that often goes unchallenged by those in my life who help keep me accountable. You see, it's in that isolation that satan finds compensation. The fact that we often blindly accept all thoughts to be 'our own' means that he can throw whatever ridiculous kinds of lies he wants at us and we may or may not recognize them for what they truly are. And if he can get us to accept the lies as truth in our heads. he can then cause more damage by moving their influence into our words and actions. Pretty sneaky huh? And absolutely lethal.

SO, I have learned that the best way to deal with stinkin thinkin is to call it out for what it is. I have to bring the enemy to the light (and by the way, isn't it amazing how puny and pathetic he seems when you call him out!) and immediately remind myself of what God says is truth. Now sometimes I recognize the lies of the enemy right away and sometimes it takes me a while but either way, God is always faithful to come through with a holy slap to the face when my defense is slacking :) and this past week it was through my devotion time. This is what it read and have been reminding myself of: (please note how incredibly applicable every part is!)

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble.

The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God! He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. O my soul, march on in strength!"

Wow right?! Those were the exact words of truth I was needing to hear to come against the lies of the enemy and once again, God was faithful to remind me of who He is even in the midst of hard times.

When all else fails, this I know. God is good.